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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23929222">Phobia</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/One_Chicago_Fanfiction/pseuds/One_Chicago_Fanfiction'>One_Chicago_Fanfiction</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Chicago PD</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Hailey is a supportive partner, Jay's needle phobia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:48:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23929222</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/One_Chicago_Fanfiction/pseuds/One_Chicago_Fanfiction</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jay Halstead's needle phobia comes to light, and he relies on Hailey to get him through it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Phobia</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was just a precaution. Those were the words Jay Halstead clung to as he walked into the ED and tried not to think about what was coming. It didn’t really help. He lost count of the steady breaths he took, and still his heart pounded, his stomach churning with anxiety, body humming with nervous energy. He tried to smile at Maggie when she asked him why he was there today. He pushed his hands into his pockets so she wouldn’t see them shaking.</p>
<p>“I don’t get it,” Hailey had said on the drive over, glancing at him before turning her attention back to the road. “You’re fearless on the job—sometimes too fearless. You’ve gone undercover. You’ve fought a war. I’ve seen you shot and bleeding out on the ground. And you’re scared of this?”</p>
<p>Jay was distracting himself by twisting his arm to get a better look at the wound. A bite mark, which he’d obtained during their latest arrest and which had undeniably broken the skin. </p>
<p>“What kind of person bites a cop?” He asked, avoiding her question. “Or—anyone, for that matter.”</p>
<p>“Someone desperate,” Hailey shrugged at the wheel. “Someone afraid and unstable.”</p>
<p>A tetanus shot. Simple enough, he’d be in and out in minutes. He recited all the words that should have reassured him. He’d be back on shift in an hour. It would only last a few seconds. It would hurt for less than a day. But it didn’t seem to matter how much his colleagues and friends had reassured him—there was one simple truth he just had to face up to. </p>
<p>Jay Halstead was afraid of needles. </p>
<p>Terrified, actually, and that terror was the only reason Voight had even agreed to let Hailey go with him for the shot. Jay guessed no one believed he’d actually get it if they let him go alone. And they were probably right. Given that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had one, his tetanus shot was almost certainly expired—a fear which Maggie only confirmed. With his electronic chart held in the palm of her hand, Maggie smiled and waved him through the automatic doors of the waiting room and into a bay. </p>
<p>“Nurse Sexton’ll get this done for you,” Maggie said. “You’ll be back at work in a heartbeat.” He tried to smile again, and Maggie disappeared back into the waiting room to call the next patient. Jay paced the small parameters of the bay they’d been assigned, and Hailey stood with her arms crossed and simply watched him, a mixture of curiosity and amusement radiating from her. </p>
<p>“What?” He asked, and when her expression only intensified, when he saw the amusement taking over the curiosity, he felt something break, like ice cracking under his feet. “Fine, you want me to say it? I hate needles, okay? Always have. There’s just something I…Okay, look, I know it sounds funny, alright? I know. But I’m gonna need you to stop laughing at me, Hailey. Please.”</p>
<p>“I’m not laughing,” she said, and by the time she finished her sentence it was true. Her arms were at her side, a seriousness settling into her expression that was almost worse somehow. She almost looked worried now. “It’ll be okay, Jay. I mean, logically you know that, right?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” he admitted. “I know, I know. I just—I don’t know, Hailey. It’s just…it’s a phobia, and I can’t shake it, okay? That’s…that’s it.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” Hailey said. “Well, I’m your partner. Anything you need, I’m there. Right by your side.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Jay breathed, sickly anxiety coursing through him, running cold and sticky through his veins. </p>
<p>And then April Sexton walked in. </p>
<p>“Hey, guys,” she said, sliding the door shut behind her and then pulling gloves on. “So you’re here for an updated tetanus shot. Mind if I get a look at the bite?”</p>
<p>“Sure,” Jay said, and April’s gloved fingers were cold against his skin. She examined the shallow wound for a moment and hummed. </p>
<p>“Keep an eye on it,” she told him. “If you think it’s getting worse come back in, but it looks okay for now. Better safe than sorry, though. You ready?”</p>
<p>Jay made a noise in the back of his throat, a noise that sounded vaguely affirmative. </p>
<p>“Take a seat,” April said, and Jay lowered himself down onto the bed, one leg shaking just to give him something else to focus on. He didn’t watch as April readied the injection, the needle in her hand. Jay swallowed hard and fought to keep his breaths even. He was seconds away from shutting his eyes when he felt the dip of Hailey’s weight on the bed beside him, her cool hand sliding into his. He looked up quickly, met his partner’s eye and saw her smile, warm, reassuring, loving.</p>
<p>“I got you,” she said, and squeezed his hand. “Just hold my hand.”</p>
<p>So he did. April moved towards him and his breaths quickened, and his heart pounded, and all of his instincts told him to run and the logical part of him knew it was irrational. So he held Hailey’s hand. With his partner by his side he sat still and tried not to panic as the needle slid into his skin, as the sharp pain April warned him about became the only thing he could focus on. Apart from Hailey. </p>
<p>“Ow,” she said, trying to pull her hand from his grip as he tightened it. “Ow—Jay. Not so tight.”</p>
<p>“Shit,” he said. “Sorry.” And the moment he let her go was the moment April pulled the needle from his arm.</p>
<p>“All done,” she said, and Jay looked down at the injection site as April pressed a plaster down onto his skin, held the pressure against it for a moment, then pulled away. “You’re good to go, Jay. Wanna say hi to Will? I can go check if he’s free.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Jay said. “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”</p>
<p>April left the room and Hailey shook her hand out and laughed. </p>
<p>“Hey, I’m sorry about that,” Jay said. “Really. It’s just…needles, man. I can’t.”</p>
<p>“It’s okay,” Hailey said, bringing her hand to his back and moving it in small circles between his shoulder blades, her hand warm against the fabric of his shirt.  “And yes, you can. You did great.”</p>
<p>“Couldn’t have done it without you,” Jay said, and Hailey grinned. </p>
<p>“Once we’ve seen Will,” Hailey said, “wanna grab a bite on the way back to the district? If we’re late, I’ll just tell them you fainted.”</p>
<p>“Funny,” Jay said, smiling at his partner as she stood and readied herself to leave. “Real funny.”</p>
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